A Fate worse than Death
by Gemini14
Summary: AU. When Naraku decides to place a curse on someone, who better than to recieve it than the already miserable Kikyo? Will she survive it? Or be consumed?
1. Prologue

A Fate worse than Death

Prologue

Naraku sneered as he sliced open the undead miko's shoulder. He could tell just by her expression that she'd expected to be relatively safe in his presence, since she had assumed that Onigumo's heart was still within him. She even said as much, before he impaled her with his sword/arm and let her fall back.

"_Oh, but wait_….._I can't continue having my fun if I let her die here_…._I'll have to think of something even better to torture her with_…._A curse of some kind_…." Naraku thought, as he easily dove in and snagged the now unconscious Kikyo from midair, landed on the cliff above the miasma, and handed her to one of his underlings.

"Return to the castle. Put this wench in my strongest cell and wait for further orders. I will be there momentarily." Naraku ordered, getting an immediate nod and bow from the shadow-creature before it took Kikyo into its' gangly arms and raced off.

"_I think I know exactly which curse to use._" Naraku mused, his smile turning even more malignant as he watched Sesshomaru approach, eyeing one of the Taiyoukai's swords as he did so…….

……………………………….

When Kikyo awoke hours later, she was surprised to say the least. The last thing she remembered was the miasma roaring beneath her like a terrible poison river, and then darkness.

"_How did I get here, wherever 'here' is?_" Kikyo wondered, as she slowly sat up and looked around, holding her head for a few moments when it throbbed in response to the movement.

"Welcome back to the land of the living, Kikyo." Naraku's voice sneered, as he emerged from the shadows; his eyes glowing brightly as he eyed her from outside of the cell she was now imprisoned in.

"What do you mean by that, Naraku?" Kikyo spat, narrowing her eyes as she watched him unlock the cell door and enter.

"Now, now, don't be rude, wench. 'Naraku-sama' is how I will be addressed by you from now on." Naraku crooned, as he roughly grabbed her chin and forced her to look him in the eye.

"What makes you think you're worthy of respect?" Kikyo asked, obstinately, watching as the now youkai Naraku revealed what appeared to be a normal katana from behind his back.

"Have you ever heard of a sword called the 'Tenseiga'? It is the companion blade of Inu-Yasha's Tetsusaiga." Naraku said, ignoring Kikyo's question completely.

"I have heard rumors. Why? How does it concern me?" Kikyo again asked, backing away from Naraku since he'd released her chin from his viselike grip.

"This sword has the ability to raise the dead, but it can only be wielded by a full-blooded youkai….and since, that is what I am now, I was able to use it on you." Naraku replied, a sinister gleam emerging in his crimson eyes when something finally clicked into place in Kikyo's mind, and as horror and loathing appeared on her face.

"You wouldn't dare." Kikyo hissed, her voice low and angry as she watched Naraku close in on her with what could only be described as lust permeating his entire being.

"I can……" Naraku snarled, as he held out a hand to the now completely alive Kikyo, made a mild miasma emerge from his palm, knocked her out, and caught her before she could fall on her face.

"And I will." Naraku whispered, as he carried her out of the cell and started walking towards his quarters, licking his lips in anticipation of what was to come……..

Author's Note!

A little short, I know. Not sure of what the pairings will be yet, but I am pretty sure it'll end up as a Kikyo/Sesshomaru. Hope this was all right!

Gemini14


	2. Chapter One

Chapter One

Time passed. Naraku watched as the outside world moved on in its course. And yet, time moved differently in different parts of his castle. With a silent move, Naraku stood and walked away from the window he had been sitting in front of, going to yet another room that held one occupant captive. There, sleeping on a futon in the darkened room, lay Kikyo. With a mere wave of his hand, Naraku summoned the candles into his hands, lit them, and lifted the spell that kept Kikyo asleep.

"_Now, to see what she thinks of this new curse of mine_….." Naraku thought, smiling sadistically as the woman slowly began to wake up.

……………………..

Kikyo awoke to find herself, once again, in unfamiliar surroundings. For a few moments, she struggled to get her thoughts organized; remembering with a jolt that Naraku had struck her down, then she'd found herself alive in a dungeon cell, and then…..nothing.

"_What happened after that? Why can't I remember?_" Kikyo wondered, as she tried to sit up and get her bearings. She found this unusually difficult at first, since her body felt strangely heavy, and she stifled a frightened cry when she found that she was now very heavily pregnant!

"_What in all the hells!_" Kikyo's mind screamed, as she sat up and stared at her bulging midsection, eyes wide with horror.

"Good to see that you have remained with us, Kikyo." Naraku's voice sneered, as he made his presence known.

"What have you done to me, Naraku!" Kikyo shouted, shaking with fury and some fear as she felt the being within her shift. Naraku only shrugged and gave her a cruel smile.

"Did what came naturally, of course." Naraku replied, as he reached over and placed an icy hand on Kikyo's belly.

"You bastard!" Kikyo screamed, slapping the hand away from her as she backed away from him as far as she could go. Naraku only sneered as he watched the former priestess slowly get to her feet, noticing with some evil glee how she winced when her body complained about the unusual weight in her middle. Then she looked him directly in the eye and tried to look defiant.

"Ah, Kikyo, Kikyo. There's no need to look so. We are mates now, you and I." Naraku said, in a false placating tone, as he watched her slowly and cautiously make her way to the door; keeping her eyes on him at all times.

"Then I will simply end my own life." Kikyo replied, icily, with the calm and confidence she was infamous for.

"That is something you cannot do, now; and you can't kill me, either. You no longer have the ability to use your miko powers…..Not that they would do you any good, now, anyway." Naraku said, watching as the being within Kikyo's womb moved around, and enjoying the look of queasy discomfort as it appeared on Kikyo's pretty face.

"I'll escape from here somehow." Kikyo declared, angrily.

"I was sure you would try, so I am letting you go." Naraku replied, as he, with one wave of his hand, opened a door that led to a forest path. Immediately deciding that asking 'why' would get her nowhere, Kikyo moved on to the next question on her list.

"This….thing inside of me….Is it another of your incarnations?" Kikyo asked.

"No, it isn't." Naraku said, then added, "It will be my firstborn child. My true progeny…..Be proud, Kikyo. You're about to mother the first child of a new youkai lord!" Naraku cackled, as the castle disappeared from around Kikyo, leaving her standing on the path. It took Kikyo a few moments to get her balance, since the wall was no longer behind her; then she sighed and looked as far down the path as she could.

"_Might as well get moving, then._" Kikyo mused, as she started walking; doing her level best to ignore the nauseous feeling that passed through her as she did so.

…………………………………………..

Sesshomaru paused when a familiar scent came to his nostrils.

"_Naraku. So the fool has finally revealed himself._" Sesshomaru thought, as he looked in the direction the scent was coming from.

"Sesshomaru-sama, what is it?" Rin asked, having noticed when the youkai lord stopped and turned to look at something to their left.

"Jaken, watch over Rin. I will be back in a moment." Sesshomaru said, quietly; ignoring Rin's question completely.

"Sesshomaru-sama! Wait!" Jaken shouted too late to stop his master from going towards the source of the scent. With unbelievable speed, Sesshomaru ran down the path with the Tokijin bared and ready.

"_It took me months to recover from that last battle_….._And I had to endure staying with Inu-Yasha's 'group' for part of that time. What I can't seem to figure out is why the bastard wanted the Tenseiga. What use could a creature as twisted as he have for a healing sword?_" Sesshomaru wondered, glancing down slightly at the newly reclaimed Tenseiga; remembering with a grimace how much time it had taken to get rid of Naraku's stench from the sword itself before he could carry it with him again.

"_He's going to pay for that, among other things._" Sesshomaru's mind growled, as he neared the source of the smell. To his surprise, it was coming from the nearby path; and when he peered through the foliage, was confused when he saw a woman walking slowly and unsteadily down it towards him. From what he could tell, the woman was about seventeen or eighteen years of age, had long, midnight black hair and pale skin. She wore the garments of a miko, but they were torn and dirty; almost as though she had been dragged through the dirt by something. Yet, what took him aback was the 'miko's' swollen abdomen. As far as he knew, mikos were supposed to remain chaste, in order to preserve their powers…..what in the world had happened to this one?

"Seems as though you have come upon hard times, miko." Sesshomaru stated, as he sheathed Tokijin and approached her. Startled, the woman looked up at him, then turned her gaze away; shame clearly evident on her pretty face.

"I have indeed. Though it was not by choice, I can assure you." The woman replied, bitterly, sinking to her knees in the middle of the path and sighing tiredly. Sesshomaru arched an eyebrow.

"As I can now clearly see…..How long have you been walking this path?" Sesshomaru asked, as he watched the woman react in discomfort to her child moving around within her, then look up at him.

"Since early this morning." The woman answered, wearily, yet managing some surprise of her own when Sesshomaru closed the distance between them and tilted her chin up so her could get a good look at her face.

"You are Kikyo, are you not?" Sesshomaru again asked.

"Hai. I was once the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, and the one who had pinned Inu-Yasha to the Go-Shinboku Tree in Inu-Yasha's Forest." The woman replied.

"Why is it that you smell of Naraku, then? And that you seem to be alive?" Sesshomaru questioned, not expecting the response he got from the tainted miko.

"Naraku violated me after he brought me back to life with your sword…..and then placed me a in a deep slumber so I wouldn't try to kill myself or his 'child'. I have only been awake since this morning." Kikyo said, watching as several different expressions emerged on the taiyoukai's handsome face; she saw disgust and some anger, and then a minute trace of…..pity?

"Wait here. I am going to go get my mount. As it is, you probably won't have long to wait till the creature within you is born." Sesshomaru said, then stood and walked off, leaving a rather confused Kikyo staring after him.

"_What on earth is he thinking? And why is he acting like this? Naraku hasn't placed him under a spell, has he?_" Kikyo wondered, gasping when the 'child' inside of her kicked vigorously, getting her attention off of that subject for the time being.

…………………………..

Rin smiled when she saw the Taiyoukai return unharmed.

"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin shouted, gleefully running over to him and hugging his left leg in relief before he gently freed himself from her and walked over to Ah-Un.

"Milord, what did you find?" Jaken asked, noticing that his master seemed a bit more tense than before.

"Nothing that should concern you, Jaken." Sesshomaru snapped, coldly, before grabbing Ah-Un's reins and leading him back in the direction he'd come from.

"Wait for us, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin cried, as she dashed after him, and as Jaken did the same not too long after. After a little while, they arrived at another path, and Rin and Jaken were shocked at who they saw there.

"It's that insolent wench again!" Jaken shouted, as he gripped his Staff of Heads tightly and glared at the woman that now sat before them.

"I see your servant remembers me." Kikyo said, watching as Sesshomaru nodded.

"It seems so. Can you stand?" Sesshomaru asked. Kikyo nodded, and slowly got to her feet again, wavering slightly when her overburdened body reminded her not to move too quickly.

"Oh!" Rin gasped, when she saw the miko's distended belly, then moved to her side and helped steady her.

"Arigato." Kikyo murmured, a bit surprised when the child had come forward to help.

"Eh…..? Woman, what happened? How is it that something dead can breed?" Jaken asked, only to get a foot in the face from Sesshomaru for his lack of better judgement.

"Use your nose, Jaken. The miko is alive." Sesshomaru grumbled, as Ah-Un lowered his top half by an unspoken signal and Kikyo hesitantly mounted.

"B-but how could that be…..?" Jaken asked, when he'd regained his senses.

"Never mind." Sesshomaru said, shortly, as he started leading the way again; this time heading to the west.

"Are we going home, Sesshomaru-sama?" Rin asked, from her seat behind Kikyo. The Taiyoukai slowly nodded.

"Sesshomaru-sama, if I may, could I ask you a question?" Kikyo asked, as she tried to find a comfortable way of sitting on the double-headed dragon and opting for the 'sidesaddle' approach. She got a slight nod in response.

"Why are you doing this?" Kikyo questioned, noticing when he paused, turned, and gave her an unreadable look.

"Even I do not know, miko." Sesshomaru replied, as he returned his attention to the path and walked on; leading the way to his home, and an uncertain future for Kikyo……


End file.
